I Read Magazines

A lot. Mostly, I read fashion magazines. I love 'em. I have entirely too many subscriptions and the reason I don't have more is that those dingdong furrin ones like British Bazaar and French Vogue cost a fortune to be delivered.

I adore magazines. I know there are a lot of great online ones out there now, but I still prefer good old honest-to-goodness glossy paper. This probably has a lot to do with my age and my teensy laptop screen, but there's nothing I love more than climbing into a nice fluffy bed with a brand-new copy of "W." Bliss.

Sometimes I read great stuff in the magazines. Some of them get surprisingly talented & reputable writers to throw down for them and in between the hypersaturated shots of prettypretty clothes & shoes you can find some really good journalism.

But sometimes I read things that cause me to lift an eyebrow. Like this from the September issue of Allure, from a cover story on young actress Amanda Seyfried (don't ask me who she is, I've already forgotten):

"Her elfin looks, which (despite her long blonde hair and tiny waist) are, she believes, inferior to those of, say, Natalie Portman. "I am surrounded by an industry full of beautiful actresses!" Seyfriend says despairingly. "They're everywhere!"

Hideous troll Amanda Seyfried

Yes, poor girl. Her movie star status is such a testament to Hollywood's tolerance for the ugly and imperfect. (Also, I've read more elegant sentence structure scrawled on the walls of public restrooms.)

Sometimes both eyebrows raise. I snorted out loud when I read this tidbit from an interview with model Erin Wasson in the September issue of UK Bazaar:

"Katie Grand rang me, and asked if I'd model in Giles' A/W 09 London show. I hadn't walked a runway in years. It was awesome -- and a bit surreal, being 27 and surrounded by 16-year-olds."

Ancient crone Erin Wasson in the Giles Fall 09 runway show

Poor old dear. I do hope they let her use her cane to hobble up onto the runway. (Not to mention that Erin Wasson was born & raised in Texas -- nobody rang her for anything. They might have called her up, but it's doubtful they rang her.)

But occasionally I read something that makes me smile. A lot. This next was also in UK Bazaar. There was an article featuring interviews with the men who are the partners of successful women -- people like Taylor Hackford talking about Helen Mirren, and David Hare talking about Nicole Fahri. But far & away my favorite was from Andreas Kronthaler, who is married to the legendary Vivienne Westwood. Kronthaler was 25 when he met Westwood. She was 50. that was almost 20 years ago, and they are still, by all accounts, very happily together.

Kronthaler says, "Wherever I go with Vivienne, whoever we're with, I always fancy her the most out of everyone. Always. We were recently at a party in New York -- all these New York women were there -- and Vivienne just smiled and I thought, "Nobody is like her. No one is anywhere near...' I'd rather be with her than with all of them."

Original cougar Vivienne Westwood and husband Andreas Kronthaler

He's certainly got that right. There is no one like her. I want to be Vivienne Westwood when I grow up.



Images: allure.com, style.com,